Brian-Farrell
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THQ's Farrell says company is aiming for core foothold
THQ CEO Brian Farrell believes his company can still gain footing in the core gaming market, focusing on a quality level that "resonates with the consumers and the press." Speaking at the Wedbush Morgan Securities annual conference, attended by Gamasutra, Farrell maintains THQ has continued to strike a chord with the core audience. Saint's Row 2 -- a game Farrell described as "the number-two open-world game in the category" behind Rockstar's GTA -- has "done 2.6 million units life to date." Whether "done" means sold or shipped, is unclear. Farrell also told the audience the Warhammer 40K franchise is one "we should start talking about more." Citing upwards of 4 million units for the original Dawn of War RTS, through initial release to expansion and gold edition. In its first week, Dawn of War 2 jumped to the top of the PC sales charts. Farrell could be accused of shining as might positive light on the current poor situation his company is in. Analysts have predicted the publisher has a 50% chance of bankruptcy since THQ reported a net loss of $191.8 million for the three months ending December 31, 2008, and a loss of 24 percent of its workforce. As for Farrell's comments, it could be said that achieving a quality bar may be difficult when the company has recently decided to axe a large portion of Quality Assurance employees from Volition, the team behind Saint's Row 2. In the streets, we call that irony.
Analyst: THQ has 50% chance of bankruptcy
THQ is barely hanging on, according to Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey, who sees the company's chances of going bankrupt at 50/50. Speaking with the LA Business Journal, the prognosticator points out the publisher currently has mediocre product and is losing cash like it's battling Midway for an award in corporate ineptitude.THQ CEO Brian Farrell says that talk of an acquisition or bankruptcy "makes for good print and sells newspapers," but notes that the company currently has a plan to get through this tough time. THQ's licensed titles, which are footing some of the blame for the current predicament, have always formed a powerhouse, but those titles don't provide the margins of original games. Currently, the company's fate rests on the performance of Dawn of War 2 and ... 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand.[via GI.biz]
THQ's new strategy is to make a few 'core' titles yearly
THQ CEO Brian Farrell has revealed that the company plans to only release one or two hardcore titles as part of its "significant business realignment." According to Gamespot, Farrell stated at a recent conference that the new model would cut the publisher's previous development expectations in half and focus on quality over quantity.Don't expect to see the changes until at least 2010. THQ already has four core titles set for 2009: Red Faction: Guerilla, Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2, Darksiders: Wrath of War and Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor. Saints Row 3 could become one of those two 2010 titles, considering the game is currently in development.
THQ reveals 'Significant Business Realignment'
No, it's not a new game title. It's the real-life struggle of THQ, which made word of internal studio closings and significant layoffs official today, as it reported losses of $115.3 million in its fiscal Q2. In total, five studios will be shuttered and 250 employees released (approximately 17 percent of the publisher's workforce), and the company will reduce its forecasted development spending by $100 million in the fiscal 2010 year. "THQ plans to focus on fewer, higher quality titles, and to align its organization and cost structure accordingly," outlines the quarterly financial report. "We will dominate the fighting category!" added CEO Brian Farrell during today's conference call, plugging upcoming WWE and UFC titles. As for those "higher quality titles," THQ has pushed Volition's Red Faction: Guerrilla into the first quarter of fiscal 2010 (April-June 2009) and Darksiders: Wrath of War into the second quarter (July-September 2009). Also absent in the short term, CFO Colin Slade will be taking an unspecified medical leave of absence. "I'm looking forward to returning to THQ as soon as possible," said Slade before retiring from the call.
THQ worldwide studio exec leaves, job split into three roles
THQ's "internal problems" popped up again as Exec. VP of Worldwide Studios Jack Sorensen has quit the company. Sorensen's role will now be played by three different executives promoted from within the company. The company's president, Brian Farrell, believes this will make "a more efficient management structure."THQ has been on a bad road lately, pinning many of its hopes and blockbuster dreams this year on a few titles like Saints Row 2. The company laid off 200 employees in May and has been having negative financial reports for a year. If Atari can turn it around, there's hope for THQ.
THQ blames failure on Nintendo first-party titles
Not a new complaint, this one. Previously, both analysts and developers have suggested that Nintendo's first-party software is too strong to compete with, and now THQ has joined in on the despairing.At a Q4 earnings call with investors, President and CEO Brian Farrell has admitted that THQ's kids' games had underperformed, and that Nintendo's own output was the reason why. Says Farrell: "With [...] new competition from Nintendo's first-party titles -- as well as new music games -- our traditionally strong kids' business did not meet expectations."
THQ CEO says company can grow without acquisitions
THQ isn't afraid to make acquisitions, but the company's CEO says it can grow without buying other companies. CEO Brian Farrell tells Reuters that there are other opportunities in the market due to the Activision/Vivendi and (proposed) EA/Take-Two mergers. He says THQ is at a point now where it can be more aggressive than "larger, slower firms."Although Farrell doesn't believe acquisitions are necessary to grow, the publisher did recently buy Elephant Entertainment and Big Huge Games. He also believes that despite the US economy crashing slowing down, it won't affect the industry (a sentiment shared by others). THQ expects to announce a net loss for its last quarter ending in March and refused to discuss its forecast for the upcoming fiscal year. One guarantee is a lot of licensed games from THQ in the upcoming year ... and we mean a lot!
Red Faction 3 coming to Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Since the last game in the franchise was released in the terrifying time before Joystiq (2003!), you were probably too busy fending off saber-tooth tiger attacks to bother acquainting yourself with THQ's sci-fi first-person shooter, Red Faction. The series drew much attention to its use of "GeoMod" technology, a fancy bit of programming which enabled the real-time destruction and geometric alteration of specific and often rare in-game surfaces. A third game, unsurprisingly referred to as "Red Faction 3," has now been revealed to be in development for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.Speaking in a recent conference call, THQ CEO Brian Farrell noted that the game would once again be created by Volition, the same developer that's somehow responsible for both Saint's Row and Descent: Freespace. Red Faction 3 is expected to further enhance the franchise's destructive tendencies through the aid of today's more powerful platforms (translation: bigger 'splosions plus bloom) and should arrive somewhere between April 2008 and March 2009.
